Overview:

     This mixermap was created to benefit all Cubase users. The Guitar Chord Maker (GCM)
will be of great benefit to all who are learning guitar, those who have studio musicians at their
fingertips, those who would like to learn tablature and to those who would like to create their
own guitar chord mixermaps, by easily modifying the existing ones. There are a total of seven
mixermaps which come with the GCM, each are identical except for the snapshots associated with
them. The snapshots contain the chord note data, the fretboard fingering, the resulting chord in
Tablature and a chord reminder bar below the snapshots. All GCM mixermaps are named such as
gtrxxxxx.mix (where gtr means guitar and xxxxx is the type of chord structure: Eg. gtrminor.mix
would be a mixermap with minor chord snapshots). To use the GCM mixermaps which
accompany this document, just open one up and click any chord you would like. You will then
hear what the chord sounds like, see how to make the chord on your guitar and learn to read
tablature. If you click one chord and then another, the previously sounding chord will stop and the
new chord will sound. This makes it great for trying out chord progressions. NOTE If you plan to
modify these mixermaps, and you probably will, I highly recommend that you save these on a
floppy and store them for reference later. I activated the  move locked" function so it would keep
you from easily messing with the layout, whereas many of the objects are precisely placed for
optimum viewing. (See "Creating Your Own" below to see how easy it is to modify them) Keep
reading!  


Details:

     To make use of all the available chord snapshots and to visually see all the objects in the
GCM mixermaps, it is highly recommended that your monitor resolution be set for 1024 X 768 or
higher. All objects which are used for displaying information (like fingering, tab etc.), have 
un-assigned Midi Control Change numbers so that they will not affect your sound modules in any
way. The GCM will work best if your sound module is in General Midi mode. Most of the notes 
are assigned to Midi Channel 1 except for those which re-occur on the guitar fretboard. For
example on the "G String" (No guys not that kind of G string!), fret 5 is the same C note as the
"B String" fret 1 C note. The G String fret 5 C note is assigned to Midi Channel 2. This really
won't affect you, unless your sound module will only receive on 1 Midi Channel and in that case
you will still see the fretboard fingering, tablature and in most cases hear all the chords. (A few
chords will have missing notes you can't hear). Make sure that the Midi Out section, of the
objects, reflect your current configuration. If you need to change this you can do it globally for all
the objects. (See Cubase Help for this). There is a Guitar Selector which allows you to choose
which type of guitar (GM) for your listening pleasure. More on that in the "Guitar Selector"
section. For the following section descriptions, please open up the mixermap file called
gtrmajor.mix. Some examples below will use this file for reference.

There are three main sections in the GCM mixermap:
1) The Fretboard
2) The Tablature
3) The Guitar Selector


     FRETBOARD: The fretboard displays all the fret positions of the chord. Each of these
positions has "button" with Midi note data assigned to it. When a chord is displayed, these
buttons will turn red, indicating where to place your finger. At the bottom of the fretboard, there
are objects which show the correct fingering of the chord. A "0" means OPEN string and a
number from 1 to 4 represents which finger to use for the corresponding fret position of the
string. The "X" in the fingering section means NOT to strum that string. (NOTE: The fingering
will always display a "0" whenever an "X" is displayed) To the left of the fretboard is the fret
number. A total of six frets are used in the GCM, which account for almost all the "traditional"
style chords. (Hey if ya want Bar chords make your own mixermaps or modify mine!). At the top
of the fretboard are the string names along with a string name "button". These buttons are smaller
than those on the fretboard and are used when a chord has an open string which is strummed. In
other words, the Midi note data for the six open strings are assigned to each these six buttons.
Whenever a chord is selected and the fingering section indicates "0" (without an "X") for a string,
the button in the string name section will turn red and the note data for that string will be sent to
your sound module. The following example of a C Major chord, will use all the information
previously mentioned in this section (press C in the snapshot section):

String name    Fingering    Fret                     Description
-----------   -----------   ----    ----------------------------------------------------------
E (low)         X and 0     open    Don't strum this string, NO "buttons" are red
A                  3        3rd     Place finger 3 on fret 3. Button on fret 3 (C) is red
D                  2        2nd     Place finger 2 on fret 2. Button on fret 2 (E) is red
G                  0        open    Strum but DO not finger. Small button for G string is red
B                  1        1st     Place finger 1 on fret 1. Button on fret 1 (C) is red.
E (high)           0        open    Strum but DO not finger. Small button for E string is red

If you wish, you can also "strum" individual notes on the fretboard using your mouse by clicking
on the note (button) of your choice.


     
     TABLATURE: This section displays the chord information in Tablature (TAB). There are
six "lines" which represent the 6 strings of a guitar. The bottom line is the low E string and the
top line is the high E string. Each line has a button, in the middle, that displays the fret to be
fingered for that string. Also to the right there are six more buttons, one on each line, that display
an "X" if that string is not to be strummed. A "0" will always be displayed on the middle button if
there is an "X" displayed on that same string. Using the same example as above, a C Major chord
will displayed in TAB as follows (starting from the low E to the high E string): 0,3,2,0,1,0. Note
that there is an "X" on the right button for the low E string. Remember this means NOT to strum
that sting. 

     GUITAR SELECTOR: The guitar selector section is used to select what type of guitar
sound is heard from your GM sound module. There are two sliders: the wider (main) one is used
to select the guitar type. It is assigned to Midi channel 1. The narrow slider is linked to the main
slider and is assigned to Midi channel 2. Thus moving the main slider will select the same guitar
type on Midi channel 1 and 2. The reason for this was described above in the "DETAILS"
section. The guitar selectors (objects) were NOT selected when storing the snapshots (chords).
This allows you to change chords without affecting the previously selected guitar type. In other
words, the snapshots do not contain the guitar selector data. Also in top portion of this section,
are two buttons. One labeled "RESET" and the other "All note off". The RESET button is the
master "OFF" for all the objects. Pressing this button sends all the objects to there "0" value
which includes all the notes to velocity value of 0. This is the best way to "turn off" chords when
finished. (You can also turn chords using the OFF snapshot, which is a snapshot of the objects at
there zero values). The All note off button turns the sound off, but the chord information is still
displayed. This button sends note off data to Midi channel 1.

 
Making your own chords: 
     Do steps 1-3 to make chords for any of the options.
1) Make sure to turn off (uncheck) the "Move Locked" function. This allows you to select
objects.
2) Using the Arrow Tool, select all the objects except those in the Guitar Selector section. This is
so you don't store the guitar type and reset data along with the chords.
3) From your toolbox, choose the play tool.

OPTION 1: Duplicating an existing chord snapshot. This is used to place the chord to the position
of your choice.

1) Click on the chord you would like to duplicate or relocate.
2) Move the Chord Name slider to the position that you would like to place this chord.
3) Rename the chord (snapshot) to the same name as the chord you selected in step 1.
4) Hold the SHIFT button and click on this "new" chord snapshot. The chord is now duplicated.

OPTION 2: Making a chord from scratch. We will make a C chord in the following example.

1) You will need to know the fret positions and fingerings of the chord to do this. IF needed,
purchase a book from your local music store to help assist you.
2) Click on the snapshot all the way to the left labeled "OFF". This initializes all the objects.
3) Using the play tool, play all the notes that make up the chord. The low E string does not get
"played"; A string play C; D string play E; G string play the small button labeled G (open string);
B string play C and the high E string play the small button labeled E (open string).
4) Next, enter the correct fingering information in the Fingering box at the bottom. Remember to
enter an "X" for the low E string since this string is not strummed in the C major chord. For the
open strings, this value will remain at 0. 
5) Next enter the Tablature information. Make sure to enter an X for notes which are not
strummed.
6) Move the Chord Name slider (below the snapshots) to the position you would like to place the
chord. For this example, move it under the B chord.
7) Hold down the SHIFT button and click on the B chord.
8) Rename the B to a C chord. Congratulations, you made your first chord snapshot!
NOTE: There is one mixermap called gtr_user .mix in which all the snapshots are initialized.


There are many other options in the way you create chords, for example changing a C to a C7 you
would select the C chord, change the information for the one note that is different and store it at a
new location.

If you have any questions or suggestions for improvements,  please E-mail them to me at the
following address: hagandp@aaicorp.com

Enjoy!!
(Remember that Cubases' capabilities are only limited to the creative abilities of your own mind!)
